Troy Campus

							Build A Budget That Works
     By Buffie M. Edwards
   Are you known as the thriftiest of your
    friends? Do you always know how to have a
    good time and spend as little money as
    possible?
Back-to-School Budget

   Before you know it, your fall semester will be
    starting and you’ll be heading back to
    campus. You’ll probably have a lot to do to
    get ready...and that will probably cost you
    some money. We will shared with you our
    budget basics in hopes that you feel
    empowered to take control of your money
    and expenses when you head back to
    school.
What's it worth to reduce my
spending?
   By creating and maintaining a budget, you
    can project how much you’ll need to save
    and how much you can spend so that you
    don't lose control of your finances. So, how
    do you plan to build your Back-to-School
    Budget?
  How Much Am I Spending?
                       Current       Budgeted      Monthly   Annual
 Action to Take
                     Monthly Cost   Monthly Cost   Savings   Savings
    Eat fewer
restaurant meals
                        $160            $90         $70       $840

    Give up
   Manicures
                         $30            $0          $30       $360

   Set clothing
allowance at $60        $110            $60         $50       $600
    per month
 Give up health
  membership
                         $29            $0          $29       $348

Find lower auto
insurance rate
                        $140           $110         $30       $360

 Cancel phone
  extras—call            $14            $0          $14       $168
waiting, caller ID
  Cut Bank of
 America credit          $40            $20         $40       $240
card interest rate

     Totals             $523           $280         $243     $2916
    Ways to save money—Cut backs
   Gifts                             Frozen meals
   Charitable contributions          Compare supermarkets
   Checks                            Buy generic
   Get a free checking account       Buy day-old bread
   Magazines and books               Buy in season
   Swap services                     Don’t eat meat every night
   Haircuts                          Brown bag it at work
   Manicures/Massages                Don’t buy what you don’t really
   Cable television                   need
   Phone extras                      Don’t jump into purchasing a
   Movie rentals                      new car unless necessary
   Dry Cleaning
   Alcohol and tobacco products
   Use coupons
Make a Realistic Plan

   Take about one week to record ALL your
    spending, then break down your spending
    into categories like food, transportation,
    wants, needs, etc. That way you can
    estimate your spending more accurately.
    Think about the kinds of foods you eat and
    how much they cost. If you have a car, think
    about how many miles you will be driving
    while in college per month and calculate the
    cost of gas.
   Once you have made estimates for all your
    monthly spending, organize the data into a
    table/list that states the category name and
    the amount of money you will spend on that
    category each month. Keep in mind your
    actual income and edit your budget so that
    you don't exceed the amount of money
    you have. (That step is pretty obvious)
                A Lesson In Savings

   Then, throughout the year, keep a copy of
    the table in a place where it will be easy to
    access like inside your planner/organizer, on
    your desk, posted somewhere on a wall, or
    wherever. And finally, keep track of your
    spending as you go along to make sure that
    you stick with your budget. It would be a
    good idea to carry around a little notepad for
    record keeping.
   And before you buy something, always
    think: Do I NEED this or is it just something
    I WANT? Limit spending money on wants.
    And most people don't think of this, but it's
    good to put some money aside for
    emergencies. You never know what could
    happen. You may get sick or may have to
    visit the doctor. Those things cost money,
    too. This is a pretty foolproof way to manage
    your money.
Play It Safe

   With the planning of any budget you have to
    establish how much money you are going
    to be dealing with. From there you can
    begin to place and categorize where that
    money will go. If you are planning a monthly
    budget, begin by putting money towards
    the essentials.
   Some essentials of college life are food,
    tuition, housing, etc. Once the essentials are
    taken care of, put your money towards
    your needs. Yes, there is a difference
    between essentials and needs). Some
    needs of college life are car payments, gas,
    bills, etc.
           KICK Bad Habits

   Once the essentials and needs are taken
    care of see how much money is left over. It
    is now time for wants. This category takes
    SELF-DISAPLINE. You already know that
    you should put some of your money towards
    saving, paying back loans and those sort of
    things. But I'm the first to admit that it is hard
    to put money away when you want that CD
    so bad or you have other desires.
   Just use wisdom in dealing with your wants.
    It's like an upside-down food pyramid. Deal
    with your essentials first, then your needs,
    and end with your wants. I have found this to
    be one of the most effective ways to deal
    with a budget.
Get Organized :-p

   Knowing what you'll be spending your money
    on is the first step to budgeting for it. The
    largest and most predictable school
    expenses should be at the top of your
    budgeting list, ie. tuition, books, lab fees,
    laptop... This list should be combined with
    your current (or future) expenses, such as
    your rent, car note, gas...
   Once you know how much you'll be spending
    from month to month on the necessities you
    can compare how much you're making with
    how much you're spending and see what's
    left over for the movies (or save it ;). Keep
    this information on a chart half for your
    income and half for expenses and don't
    forget to save your receipts and write
    everything on the chart. Hope this helps :)
Spread the Wealth

   I would use something like a bulletin board to
    make a noticeable place for my monthly
    budget chart. Needs books would dominate
    the top of the budget chart. I would then put
    wants on the bottom of the page only to be
    supplied when the needs are funded. Once
    my budget gets going, I can change it to
    better serve my new school goals.
   I would check my bank accounts every
    month making sure my budget proves
    successful. If I am lagging on money, I would
    cut finances for a want and use the money
    to replace the account's loss. Nobody
    wants to be low on cash because of having
    too many hamburgers at McDonald's.
   The Savings account is important to have
    growing at a continual rate. If I were to have
    money left over from a need, then it would go
    into savings.

      You don't need to be the king of Persia
           spending all of your money.
Questions
Thank you for your participation!
I hope this information has given you some useful tips. If
   you have any suggestions for future seminar topics,
   please see Mrs. Edwards or another Student Support
   Services staff member.

If you are viewing this workshop online, please come by
   Student Support Services, 109 Eldridge Hall, and
   complete an Academic Seminar Evaluation form, so that
   we may have documentation of your program
   participation. You may also print this form online.
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